BABY-faced thugs are being recruited by criminal bikie gangs to help keep their drug operations afloat while patched members face unprecedented police pressure.

Criminal bikie gangs have become so fearful of the extra police presence and powers on the Gold Coast that they are raiding junior “feeder clubs’’ to help sell drugs and enforce bad debts.

Violent and keen to “graduate’’, the packs of teens and youths in their early 20s, have bashed senior members of bikie rivals, and in one case allegedly cut off the ears of an alleged drug cooker who “freelanced’’ for another club. Some have been charged for indiscriminately bashing older people.

Some children of bikies are raised and encouraged to join feeder clubs, sell drugs to other youths, and graduate to criminal bikie gangs.

But Task Force Take Back Commander, Superintendent Jim Keogh has revealed that police are hitting back and targeting feeder clubs as part of their eradication plan.

Supt Keogh warned that the bikies’ recruiting plan would fail and police were already charging members of feeder clubs for drug and violent offences.

In an exclusive interview with The Courier-Mail, Supt Keogh said that police were targeting the Mexican Soldiers, Gold Coast Brotherhood, Street Crew 66, Coomicubs, and Southside Soldiers, to help kill off the next generation of violent criminal gangs.

Some clubs were relying on feeder clubs to boost gang numbers as more members were sent to jail. While many get bail, a number are being sent to jail for breaching their parole conditions, most commonly for using steroids.

Supt Keogh said warnings were being sent to the feeder clubs to watch the fate of senior members being charged under the Newman Government’s tough anti-bikie laws.

“They (members of feeder clubs) are laying low too. We’ve sent the message out to (feeder clubs) to have a close look at what’s happening to the members of criminal motorcycle gangs,” he said. “There’s still a connection between bikies who are out there and feeder groups.

“It’s still certainly business as usual to a degree. They’ve still got to carry on trade for the senior members. You’ve got to use your feeder clubs to maintain some sort of cash flow out there on the street (and) keep a degree of the business going.’’

He said some teens were being recruited at high schools and generally the leader of a feeder club would be a relative of a criminal motorcycle gang.

Supt Keogh said some bikie club members didn’t care if the youths were arrested because they considered them “expendable’’.

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Police seized this photo of a man in Bandidos colours with a boy wearing a replica bikieSource:Supplied

SONS OF ANARCHY IN THE FRAME

IT’S a doting dad photo with a criminal difference.

Police obtained the photograph of a man in Bandidos colours posing with a young boy decked out in a replica bikie vest in their continuing war against outlaw motorcycle gangs.

Stitched with the Bandidos and 1 per center insignia on the back, the pair stand defiantly, raising their middle fingers to the camera.

Anti-bikie cop Jim Keogh says the image is proof of the criminal cycle police are trying to smash – young kids being raised to join criminal bikie gangs.

Superintendent Keogh said police were determined to choke off bikies’ access to new recruits, whether they were from youth gangs or closer to home.